178 replies to this topic

[sputman]

More importantly, will a suspension deter Kronwall from going after monster hits again?

that's my concern as well.

however, i think it's well regarded that kronwall is not a dirty player (though some who have been embarrassed by him *cough* sellanne *cough* might say otherwise). although a suspension would give him a 'history,' i don't know if he could take that element out of his game. he's so good at hitting people and really does seem to enjoy it.

the game is so fast it's impossible to line up for those kinds of hits and pull out at the last second. it's two big bodies coming directly together, and if the dude is leading with his head well, DING. you're not targeting somebody's head if you go to hit his body and that's what is sticking out.

the chasing around and escorts off of the ice were embarrassing. our powerplay is horrendous; nobody can step in and say "you really want to fight? how about me?" janik?

if i were kronwall, I'd be a little concerned about getting cheap-shotted as a result from one of those hits. what do these other teams have to fear?

[jollymania]

It is still being reported that voracek isn't concussed.

[b.shanafan14]

Clean, north-south hit with an unfortunate, yet unavoidable point of contact. Kronwall has actually been impressing me in the last few months by consistently keeping his skates on the ice.

This play is one of a few astounding hits we are seeing these days where the player with the puck seems oblivious to a hit he should expect. Players are getting far to complacent seeming to think 100% of the onus is on the player laying the hit. The play gets worse every time I see it: Kronwall stepped up on those same boards, exact spot TWICE in this same game prior to the hit. Voracek looks up and seems to see Kronwall at the blue line. He then proceeds to handle the puck and skate as leisurely as I've seen any player not named Bertuzzi do in a long time. By the time Kronwall is on him he had taken several strides looking straight down and to the side, clueless to the play he had to just seconds earlier have seen as a possibility. Timed perfectly with the moment Kronwall reached him, Voracek finally turns up ice like a goose in flight, head down, neck out. Perfect stand-up, skates down hit, leveled at Voracek's chest but for his head being so stretched out in front of him. Honestly, if he was on the opposite side of the ice, the way he was skating he had just as much chance of running straight into someone coming off the bench. OBLIVIOUS.

I honestly don't know what Kronwall could have done without neglecting to do his job and take the body. Unfortunately, this type of play with absolute complacency on the part of the player with the puck is starting to contribute more than anything to concussions in the league. Blind-side hits are one thing, but choosing not to acknowledge the threat right in front of you should not make you immune to a good clean north-south hit.

[Tim.D]

Bob McKenzie via Twitter: "No suppl disc for Kronwall on Voracek. PPOC was head but deemed full body on body hit. Not a hit NHL believes should be out of the game."

Edited by Tim.D, 07 March 2012 - 10:37 AM.

[b.shanafan14]

if i were kronwall, I'd be a little concerned about getting cheap-shotted as a result from one of those hits. what do these other teams have to fear?

This is the part that bugged me last night. Instead of waking up the Wings with the hit, everyone then played pretty nervously until the end of the period because the Flyers were quite obviously out for blood. Players don't have the benefit of replay and assume most hits like that are dirty, and even if they don't, they are looking to make a player like Kronwall feel similar pain. That's when real cheap shots and dirty play happens, as retaliation.

That said, the Wings should feed off of such physical play from their blueline instead of going into some clumsy turtle-style until it blows over. Old Wings used to encourage such running around and make them hurt on the PP, and as others have said, Kronwall "trolls" with the best of them by laying the hit and shrugging it off to draw penalties. Lately when such a situation happens I sense no "blood in the water" composed mentality and rather a "we're sorry, if we let you hit us are we even?" stance.

[sputman]

Bob McKenzie via Twitter: "No suppl disc for Kronwall on Voracek. PPOC was head but deemed full body on body hit. Not a hit NHL believes should be out of the game."

good.

[jollymania]

rejoice

[Opie]

Clean, north-south hit with an unfortunate, yet unavoidable point of contact. Kronwall has actually been impressing me in the last few months by consistently keeping his skates on the ice.

This play is one of a few astounding hits we are seeing these days where the player with the puck seems oblivious to a hit he should expect. Players are getting far to complacent seeming to think 100% of the onus is on the player laying the hit. The play gets worse every time I see it: Kronwall stepped up on those same boards, exact spot TWICE in this same game prior to the hit. Voracek looks up and seems to see Kronwall at the blue line. He then proceeds to handle the puck and skate as leisurely as I've seen any player not named Bertuzzi do in a long time. By the time Kronwall is on him he had taken several strides looking straight down and to the side, clueless to the play he had to just seconds earlier have seen as a possibility. Timed perfectly with the moment Kronwall reached him, Voracek finally turns up ice like a goose in flight, head down, neck out. Perfect stand-up, skates down hit, leveled at Voracek's chest but for his head being so stretched out in front of him. Honestly, if he was on the opposite side of the ice, the way he was skating he had just as much chance of running straight into someone coming off the bench. OBLIVIOUS.

I honestly don't know what Kronwall could have done without neglecting to do his job and take the body. Unfortunately, this type of play with absolute complacency on the part of the player with the puck is starting to contribute more than anything to concussions in the league. Blind-side hits are one thing, but choosing not to acknowledge the threat right in front of you should not make you immune to a good clean north-south hit.

Great line, great imagery.
I voted no, because this is indeed the type of hit that should be kept in the game, this hit should be showed to players over the summer.

[Doc Holliday]

Bob McKenzie via Twitter: "No suppl disc for Kronwall on Voracek. PPOC was head but deemed full body on body hit. Not a hit NHL believes should be out of the game."

[The Production Line]

Bob McKenzie via Twitter: "No suppl disc for Kronwall on Voracek. PPOC was head but deemed full body on body hit. Not a hit NHL believes should be out of the game."

Good. I don't have to disown Shanny.

[jollymania]

And Voracek doesn't have a concussion, so we can officially make more of those motivational posters.

[AceInTheSleeve]

Absolutely too soon. I don't want to say definitively one way or another becuase frankly I don't know the state of his condition, but the way his arms flailed on the ice is a sign of severe brain damage. Voracek might be messed up pretty badly right now.

I don't think you're completely right about involuntary muscle tension being a definitive sign of brain damage. You see this a lot in combat sports like boxing and mma when fighters get knocked out. I don't know why it happens but it obviously has something to do with your brain bouncing around your skull sending scrambled messages to your body. The link you posted previous deals with patients in a coma, not knockout victims. Although it looked pretty nasty, especially the way he hit the ice, I'd wager that Voracek does not have severe brain damage from the hit.

[jollymania]

Edited by jollymania, 07 March 2012 - 11:07 AM.

[Holmstrom96]

NHL.com is promoting on it's front page the Kronwall-Voracek hit as one of the "Hits of the Year".

Hopefully this bodes well that the NHL folks are classifying it that way.

[rrasco]

Bob McKenzie via Twitter: "No suppl disc for Kronwall on Voracek. PPOC was head but deemed full body on body hit. Not a hit NHL believes should be out of the game."

That's what I'm talking about.

After one of the first Kronwallings of the year that was quasi-borderline I was concerned it was going to deter him from making that type of hit again. I don't remember which game, but I think it was his first back hit. After they came out and said it was clean, he went for one the next game too, might have even been the next night. So quite the contrary to deterring him, it almost seems like it encourages him after they are deemed clean. I wonder if that means he's going to lay someone out on Friday.

[arag]

Good hit.

[hooon]

Didn't Jagr get hurt also after the hit from trying to run Fil?

[rrasco]

NHL.com is promoting on it's front page the Kronwall-Voracek hit as one of the "Hits of the Year".

Hopefully this bodes well that the NHL folks are classifying it that way.

McKenzie is reporting no supp disc. I figured it wouldn't be an issue after the NHL.com stories were almost advertising it instead of posting a story about 'Hearing Wednesday for Kronwall'.

[Konnan511]

Under the rules I thought it was suspendable. Under the sport, I thought it was a beauty of a hit!

[mmorland]

If he keeps his head up, this hit wouldn't be nearly as bad. People always want a suspension these days when a play gets hit with his head down. How about all players skate with their heads down so no one gets hit anymore. The hit was fine and as a sports enthusiast first and wings fan second, I support this type of play in hockey. No one likes to get Kronwalled but we all love to watch it!